1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to cutting boards and more particularly, to a cutting board with drain holes distributed across the cutting surface. The drain holes remove the juices or fluids of the food being prepared.
2. Description of Related Art
Safe food handling is an essential component of safe food preparation which is necessary to eliminate food contamination resulting from the juices of raw food, such as meat or poultry, contacting other foods. Cutting boards are commonly used as platforms for supporting food items to be cut and sliced. During the cutting or carving process, juices, drippings, and food trimmings are produced and if they are not properly handled, food contamination with its potentially detrimental consequences will result.
The prior art describes a number of cutting boards used to prepare food items, for example, an ornamental design for a perforated cutting board is shown in U.S. Pat. Des. No. 348,809, issued on Jul. 19, 1994, to T. O. Ladwig. U.S. Pat. No. 4,653,737, issued on Mar. 31, 1987, to L. A. Haskins, et al., describes a device for the trimming, cutting, and cleanup of foodstuffs. The device uses a flat surfaced cutting board with at least one aperture for removing food scraps to a first storage area beneath the cutting board and for removing useable food portions separately to a second storage area beneath the cutting board.
A cutting board assembly is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,907,789, issued on Mar. 13, 1990, to R. Tice. The assembly includes a board member which has an upper cutting surface with a groove around the periphery. A removable container or plastic bag is adapted to fit over a leg of an L-shaped flange which extends outwardly from an elongated slot. U.S. Pat. No. 5,366,208, issued on Nov. 22, 1994, to W. Benjamin, describes a cutting board system. The cutting board system provides both a cutting board and a drip pan tray for receiving juices and trimmings which are cut from food articles. A cutting board for cutting food articles is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,527,022, issued on Jun. 18, 1996, to J. H. Gibson. The cutting board comprises a cutting surface, a bottom surface, a juice channel, a sloping guide plane, and a leveling means.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.
Accordingly, it is a principal object of the invention to provide a cutting board that quickly and efficiently removes juices, drippings, and food trimmings from a cutting surface during a cutting or carving process.
It is another object of the invention to provide a cutting board that eliminates food contamination by ensuring that the juices from raw foods are not inadvertently spread.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a cutting board that is easily cleaned.
It is an object of the invention to provide improved elements and arrangements thereof in a cutting board for the purposes described which is inexpensive, dependable and fully effective in accomplishing its intended purposes.
The foregoing are achieved in accordance with the present invention by providing a cutting board with strategically placed drain holes that quickly and efficiently remove the juices, drippings, and food trimmings from the cutting surface during the cutting or carving of a food item. The cutting board employs the use of large diameter drain holes in the cutting surface itself and the use of a peripheral trough with its own drain holes to drain any juices or drippings that flow over the sides of the cutting surface. A pan receptacle is disposed beneath the cutting board to collect the juices, drippings, and food trimmings.